Russia Opposed to US Bid to Condemn Iran in Yemen Resolution

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russia said it is opposed to a bid by the United States and its allies to include language condemning Iran for allegedly violating an arms embargo imposed on Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah Movement in a United Nations resolution renewing that embargo this month.

"We don't like condemnations at all, in general," Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said on February 21. "The resolution is about Yemen...not about Iran."

The UN Security Council is negotiating over a draft resolution offered by Britain in consultation with the United States and France that would allegedly condemn Iran for what it calls violating the arms embargo on Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah Movement leaders and include a council commitment to take action over the violation.

The US has been lobbying for weeks for the UN council to hold Iran accountable for allegedly supplying weapons to the Houthi Ansarullah Movement which is fighting the Saudi-led coalition aggression for almost three years.

Britain's draft resolution would threaten action against Iran for "failing to take the necessary measures to prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer" of short-range ballistic missiles, drones, and other military equipment to the Houthi Ansarullah Movement, UN diplomats said.

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on the draft resolution next week, as the existing arms embargo is due to expire on February 26.

Russia, as one of five world powers sitting permanently on the Security Council, has the power to block any new sanctions against Iran by vetoing the resolution.

In the meantime, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi dismissed as “baseless” recent claims that the Islamic Republic has provided the Yemeni movement with ballistic missiles, saying the “childish” scenario aims to whitewash the crimes of aggressors in Yemen.

Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by a coalition led by the Saudi regime for almost three years but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

Over 14,000 Yemenis, including thousands of women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.